Thursday, March 13, 2008

I blame global warming

NOAA reports “The average temperature across both the contiguous U.S. and the globe during climatological winter (December 2007-February 2008) was the coolest since 2001, according to scientists at NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C. In terms of winter precipitation, Pacific storms, bringing heavy precipitation to large parts of the West, produced high snowpack that will provide welcome runoff this spring.”

“In the contiguous United States, the average winter temperature was 33.2°F (0.6°C), which was 0.2°F (0.1°C) above the 20th century average – yet still ranks as the coolest since 2001. It was the 54th coolest winter since national records began in 1895.”

Statistics can be one of those things that brings out the “con” in “confusion” but it sure seems like if records have been kept since 1895 and this is 2008 then that is 113 years of data. If 2007-08 ranks as the “54th coolest winter” then that is roughly right smack dab in the middle or as Goldilocks might say, “this winter is just right.” Something tells me our measurements might be a wee bit more accurate in 2008 than they were in say, 1908. Something tells me that the guy in charge of reading the thermometer may not have been able to perfectly identify to within one hundredth of one degree the actual temp at any given moment in time.

Of course, “just right” is a figment of our own imagination, because there is no ideal climate---a 0.2 degree swing up or down is just a variance from the mean and not necessarily a net negative or net positive event. And when you consider that throughout one day in mid-Mo the temperature can swing 40 plus degrees, in a 24 hour period….an identification that the “global mean” temp may have varied by as much as less than 1 degree in 100 plus years of watching it seems like the very definition of the “gnat’s ass.” If "global warming" is a product of anthropogenic (man made) release of carbon dioxide, and our release of carbon dioxide has increased every year that it has been measured, then we would expect the temp to go up every year that it has been measured...but obviously there are other forces at work in our climate, like maybe the giant ball of superfusion 93 million miles away responsible for all light and energy on the planet.

Let’s put our resources towards providing all people with access to clean and safe drinking water, and the eradication of preventable parasitic diseases like malaria which is currently killing over 1 million people a year. Let's put our energies towards promoting democratic self government everywhere and free and fair capitalist economic expansion. Let's put our energies towards empowering the poorest on the planet to pursue life, liberty and property so that they might also be able to live with ultra high standards of living that we in the US have come to enjoy.

And if you believe that limiting your release of carbon dioxide will somehow have an impact on the global temperature, and that pursuing a constant global mean temperature is a goal worth pursuing---I recommend holding your breath. Indefinitely.